1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to anchor members for removably securing hangers as generally employed on perforated panel support systems.
2. Description
Hangers associated with article supporting means as used in perforated panels are relatively common. Hangers for such perforated panel systems take many shapes and forms determined by the nature of the articles to be supported. Most such hangers embody a single wire forming an extended body or shank with an article supporting extension forwardly from the lower end of the body, and the upper end of the body provides an anchoring means in the form of one or more bent offsets, which are inserted rearwardly through selected apertures and then pivoted downwardly into operating position. The wire diameter is determined by the perforated panel aperture size.
Although the perforated panel system is well known and widely used there are inherent problems which cause dissatisfaction in operation. The instant invention corrects these problems.
In the practice of the present systems using bent wire hangers or brackets in combination with perforated panel systems, it has been found that when an article is put in place on or is removed from the typical hangers, the hanger often shifts laterally, or moves forward, dislocating itself from the panel with the article being removed. This undesired displacement has been addressed by various forms of stabilizers with limited success. Some stabilizing means take the form of projecting lugs integral with the body, adapted to fit into an adjacent aperture, with or without frictional attachment in order to stabilize. Although this is the most common approach, it is unsatisfactory because the manufacturing tolerances allowable for the aperture sizes in the perforated panels of different types and various manufacturers, manufacturing tolerances allowable by different fixture manufacturers, wear and tear and weathering, all influence the frictional fit without which stabilizing performance is extremely limited. In those cases where the aforementioned fit is acceptable initially after several insertions and removals in certain types of panels such as hardboard, this relationship is no longer satisfactory. Other methods being practiced to overcome this problem are the use of two or more part units which require time, effort, and proper assembly, on stabilizers and hangers which are costly to manufacture.
Of the devices known, the anchoring system closest to the present invention in spirit is the Rivkin U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,680, co-granted Apr. 10, 1984 to the applicant of the present application.